Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that Tehran has “no trust” in the United States and is willing to negotiate only if Washington is serious, casting fresh doubt on stalled talks aimed at ending the more than 11-week-old war.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to reporters in New Delhi during a visit to attend the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, said “contradictory messages” from Washington have left Tehran uncertain about American intentions. He added that the mediation process led by Pakistan has not failed but is in “difficulty.”

Araghchi said Iran is trying to maintain the fragile ceasefire to give diplomacy a chance, but is also prepared to return to fighting.

The remarks came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running thin. During his three-day visit to Beijing, Trump told reporters he had agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that has been largely blocked since the war began February 28.

On the strait, Araghchi said all vessels can pass through except those at war with Tehran, and that ships wishing to transit must coordinate with the Iranian navy. He described the situation as “very complicated.”

About 20% of the world’s seaborne oil supply moved through the Strait of Hormuz before the war began, and its closure has triggered a global energy crisis. Iran sealed off the waterway after the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on February 28 that killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. has since imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports.

Negotiations have moved in fits and starts. Earlier this month, U.S. and Iranian officials were reported to be closing in on a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding that would declare an end to the war and launch 30 days of detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, the strait and sanctions relief. But Trump rejected Iran’s counterproposal Sunday as “totally unacceptable,” and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed Tehran would “never bow.”

Among the sticking points are the duration of a moratorium on uranium enrichment – Washington has pushed for 20 years while Tehran has offered five – and the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran has reportedly agreed to suspend enrichment for a limited period but has rejected dismantling its nuclear facilities. Tehran has also demanded the U.S. end its blockade of Iranian ports as a condition for fully opening the strait, along with war reparations, an end to sanctions, and the release of frozen Iranian assets.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)